No doubt some of today's young people (at least the less lascivious ones) will like these well made Nancy Drew programmers from the late 1930's, but they are likely best received by old geezers such as yours truly. That is geezers who just love cute, beautiful, sassy, exuberant, 16-year old Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew, just like the granddaughter they have or wish they had! Sweet, manipulative, cute little Nancy! I say little because she was short, even though built like a miniature Joan Blondell. She can twine her stern, dignified, swank attorney father (John Litel) around her pinkie with one hand tied behind her back and the fingers crossed -- just as easily as she could yours truly! Okay, it is a grandpa syndrome. I just love these little Nancy Drew movies, but the grouchy old wife, after watching the first picture of the series, finds Nancy silly, irritating, and fluffy, and furthermore refuses to watch any other.Nancy Drew, Detective, the second of the four-picture series, is breezy, clever, fast moving, fast talking, light-hearted fun. Though assuredly a B-picture, it gets the same high-gloss production values from Warners as the others of the series. The sets are first-rate, even if the same ones are used in all four movies. Direction by William Clemens and cinematography by Arthur Edeson are "A" class, and Heinz Roemheld's florid original score propels the action along at a break-neck pace.The young actors who carry most of the load are kept on their toes by Warner's stable of superb character actors, led by the ever reliable Litel and including Thomas E. Jackson, as a tough city editor giving Nancy a bigger break as a reporter than he knows, and Olin Howland as the police sergeant who helps the kids get the goods on the bad guys. The lanky, 6-foot-plus Howland is hilarious in his disguise as a grumpy, elderly woman!But it is the adorable and energetic Bonita who carries the picture, along with Frankie Thomas as Nancy's long-suffering, much-manipulated boyfriend Ted. In this picture the two teen sleuths get some bratty, tag-along help from Ted's horrid little sister (Mary Lee) and her equally obnoxious pal (Dickie Jones). Actually the brats are cute if you view them in the right light. This picture is more of a comedy than a mystery, and one of the best scenes occurs when Nancy, Ted, and the brats get in trouble at a Chinese restaurant and have to sing for their supper. It's a cute number if you're in the right mood. Astonishingly, Mary Lee, who was actually 15 but looked only ten, had a voice like a chain-smoking, thirty-six year old torch singer! Bonita could sing, too, the adorable, little cutie!Nancy Drew, Reporter is primarily for fun. I probably rated it higher than I should have. Certainly not Accademy Award material. But a delight from beginning to end. An enduring example of how the big studio systems of Hollywood's Golden Era could turn out good-looking, entertaining pictures while only half-way trying.

It would be too easy to pick this story apart for it's lack of credibility, but that would be a disservice to all the young fans of the Nancy Drew series of books and films that continue to entertain to the present day. The best thing to do with this one is watch it with a few kids and get their reaction to the on screen hi-jinks between Nancy (Bonita Granville) and her put upon pal Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas). Nancy's pretty slick actually, the way she filched the newspaper assignment and how she managed to con her way into and out of the scrapes she found herself in.There were a few things that had me going 'Huh?' though, like did the door man at the gym REALLY charge them ten cents to get in? The other head scratcher was the lettering on the office door of the River Heights Tribune - what exactly is a 'Newspaper Morgue'?

NANCY DREW REPORTER is the second in a series of four programmers from the late 1930s, all directed by the same individual and starring the same cast. In this one, our junior reporter is hot on the trail of a poisoner, and her frantic hunt takes her into the netherworld of boxing, among other intriguing places. As has been noted elsewhere, the manic Nancy Drew of the movie series is not the more sedate Nancy Drew of the books, plus she is a bit older on film. But Bonita Granville's high spirits and fast-paced delivery are infectious, and so we go along for the wild ride. Granville, who later produced LASSIE on TV and in films, was absolutely charming at age 16, and is supported by some of the best actors of the day, including Frankie Thomas as her long-suffering boyfriend and John Litel as her authoritative lawyer dad. The 68 minutes on this one go by very fast, aided by a highly whimsical musical score. There's even a musical interlude halfway through that makes good use of Granville terrific singing voice. To add to the merriment, the cars seen throughout are an absolute riot. A must see. Also, the film quality and sound are first rate, way above many B films of the era. The people who put this trifle together clearly treated it the way they would any A production of the time.

A very enjoyable movie. Oh sure, there will be the people who analyze everything to the last degree who will find things to complain about. But for a fun, lighthearted 68 minutes be sure to watch the movie. Since I never read a Nancy Drew book I don't know how close it was to the character, but this one was about teenager Nancy getting herself into and out of plenty of scrapes and near disasters. She takes on a murder case as a mis-representing cub reporter and gets her father lawyer to help the accused lady whom she feels was framed and innocent. She sneaks into the murder house where one of the bad guys is hiding and watching her. I found myself feeling the suspense. Bonita Granville does a great job. I didn't like her in the part at first but she won me over fast. She apparently did other Nancy Drew movies and now I will have to keep a look out for them. She also did some Andy Hardy movies with Mickey Rooney and was a producer of the Lassie TV series. The younger sister of the male lead was Mary Lee and was in some Gene Autry movies and if that was her really singing in this movie, wow what a voice for a young girl! The younger brother Dickie Jones went on to become Buffalo Bill Jr on TV when he was a bit older and I remember watching and liking him in that show. John Litel as the father and of course, he was in so many movies over the years and always did a professional job. The movie is just plain, good old fashioned fun - give it a watch.